BI News, New Delhi : There is a bad news for those, who wants to visit Canada at the earliest as Toronto has temporarily suspended Visa and in-person consular services in Chandigarh, Mumbai and Bengaluru. This retaliatory move will seriously hit Visa processing for Canada in India. Now onwards, only the Canadian High Commission based in Delhi will provide the above mentioned services. India had about a month back suspended Visa processing in Canada.
The Canadian government’s decision to withdraw 41 diplomats from India and pause the operation of visa and consular services in Chandigarh, Mumbai and Bengaluru is expected to lead to immigration and visa application processing delays. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told reporters that 41 Canadian diplomats, a majority of Ottawa’s mission in India, along with 42 dependents, have left India. As a result, only 21 Canadian diplomats remain in India. Notably, 27 Immigration Department staff members are among the withdrawn diplomats. The Globe and Mail reported that the reduced staff could lead to a backlog of 17,500 decisions on applications from India.
Joly further stated, “India has formally conveyed its plan to unethically remove diplomatic immunities for all but 21 Canadian diplomats and dependents in Delhi by October 20. This means 41 Canadian diplomats and their 42 dependents were in danger of having immunity stripped on an arbitrary date. And this would put their personal safety at risk.” Confirming the withdrawal of diplomats, Joly said that Canada has “facilitated their safe departure from India”.
She added, “India’s decision will impact the levels of services to consulates in both countries. Unfortunately, we have to put a pause on all in-person services in our Consulates in Chandigarh, in Mumbai and in Bangalore.”
“Canadians who need consular assistance can still visit our High Commission in Delhi. And you can still also do that in person by phone and by email,” she added. This comes after India had called for diplomatic parity with Canada, implying a reduction in Canadian diplomats in India, over the ongoing diplomatic row between the two nations.
Tensions flared between the two countries last month following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of the “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. India rejected the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”.
The latest development would lead to a significant slowdown of Indian visa applications for Canada, a huge chunk of which comprises Indian students applying for visas to study in various Canadian universities. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), which is responsible for processing visas, has said that it is reducing its number of employees in India from 27 to five. In 2022, India was the top country for permanent residents, temporary foreign workers, and international students in Canada.
“Due to the decrease in Canadian diplomatic staff in India, Indian citizens would face delays in overall processing times, responses to enquiries and getting visas or their passports back,” the IRCC said. Even as it will continue to accept and process applications from India, reduced staffing levels are expected to impact processing times.
